“A

re you sure I’m dressed okay for this?” Rose asked for the millionth time.

“You look great.” I’d told her that about seven times already, and I’d tell her a million times more, as many times as she needed to hear it. The truth was, when she’d walked out of her bedroom dressed for the brunch we were headed to, I wanted to pick her up, throw her over my shoulder, and walk her back into the bedroom.

The warmer it got, the tinier her clothes were getting. I usually didn’t mind much, and I’d never stop her from wearing anything, but it didn’t mean when she came out of her room in a sundress that showed off her amazing cleavage and fantastic ass, I didn’t want to take it off her immediately. She looked hot. Completely appropriate, but hot nonetheless.

“But do I look Have Brunch with The Mayor And His Wife great? Is it too informal? Should I put on pearls?”

She sincerely looked panicked.

“Babe, they said casual. It’s a birthday brunch.”

“With the mayor,” she cried.

I tried to cover my smile with my hand.

“You’ve met them before, Rose. They’re not royalty. They’re Camden’s parents.”

“They’re politicians and clients. Big clients. I want to make a good impression.”

She smoothed her hand down her stick-straight hair again. Coming up behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and smiled when she leaned her weight into me.

“You’re being a little ridiculous,” I said, enjoying the way her body pressed against mine. She fit me just right. Like we’d been carved from the same tree. “You’re beautiful and your outfit is perfect. We’re going to be late. Let’s go.”

She spun in my arms, surprising me, but I got over it when she pressed her breasts against my chest and wound her arms around my neck.

“I didn’t know you owned khaki pants,” she said with a smirk. “I was sure it was just blue jeans and Carhartts.”

“I’m full of surprises, sweetheart.”

“I’ll remember that.” She pressed up on her toes and kissed me, and it took everything in me not to walk her backward back into her bedroom.

When she finally pulled back after a kiss that probably was meant to be short and casual turned into a serious make out session, I had to ask, “You planning on wearing shoes?”

More panic raced across her face and she turned and ran into her bedroom.

“I totally hadn’t thought about shoes! Aiden, which shoes am I going to wear?”

“Fuck if I know, woman! Just pick some,” I half yelled and half laughed. “Lord knows you’ve got enough of them in there.”

“Smart men don’t comment on the size of their girlfriend’s shoe collection,” she hollered.

I smiled for a few reasons. The first being Rose was cute as fuck when she was feisty. Another being how right she was about smart men, but I liked getting Rose worked up. And the third reason I was smiling was because that was the first time Rose had ever referred to herself as my girlfriend.

We’d been dating for more than a few weeks, but the only people we really encountered as a couple were waitstaff at restaurants when we went out to eat. The crew at Bambino’s never inquired about our status, but you could tell they treated her with extra respect because she was with me.

Honestly, titles and labels just never came up. People in the thirties didn’t have the boyfriend/girlfriend chat, did they? An exclusivity talk was probably pretty normal, but we hadn’t had that either. It had just been assumed since the beginning that we were exclusive. At least, that’s what I assumed.

“Babe,” I called out, suddenly in need of answers.

“Yeah?” I heard echo from her bedroom.

“We aren’t dating other people, are we?”

It was silent for a few very long moments, but then I heard her footsteps coming toward me. When she appeared in the doorway, she looked utterly confused.

“What now?”

“You and me. We’re exclusive, right?”

“I... what... you...”

She couldn’t string two words together.

“You just called yourself my girlfriend and it occurred to me we never had that talk about labels, and then I realized we never talked about whether we’d see other people or not.”

Her face went blank and she asked in a small voice, “Are you seeing other people?”

“Fuck, no. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t.”

She looked around the room, as if the next words she wanted to say were hiding somewhere in her condo.

“When would I have the time to see anyone else? If I’m not at work or the gym, I’m with you. Every night. Why would you ask me that?”

“Babe, calm down.”

Perhaps that wasn’t the best way to go about getting information.

“There’s no one else. I don’t want anyone else. I was just making sure you didn’t have someone else.”

She was still for a moment, then threw her arms in the air, huffing out a breath, and headed back into the bedroom.

“You’re lucky you’re so handsome,” she called out.

And yeah, that made me smile.

“Babe,” I yelled.

“What?” Her voice was a groan and I knew I was really riling her up.

“Will you be my girlfriend? Officially?”

Silence filled the condo again, but after a few seconds Rose appeared, stepping out of her bedroom slowly, stopping when she was right in front of me. She leaned forward with her hands out, bracing them on my chest as she gave me her weight. Her head tilted back and I caught her gaze.

“What am I going to do with you?”

“Kiss me?”

I wanted more from her right then—well, always. I always wanted all of her—but we were going to be late as it was, so I would settle for a kiss. Her arms wrapped tighter around my neck and her lips connected with mine. I could feel her smiling against my mouth. It was a sweet and silly kiss, but it was perfect.

She pulled back, that brilliant smile still shining on her face. “So, what am I?”

“Late for brunch?”

She slapped my arm, laughing.

“Say it.”

“You’re my girlfriend.” I pretended to be annoyed, rolling my eyes and smiling. But the sincerity of it all came back to me, the idea that I was one fortunate bastard to be standing there with her in my arms. So, I put my serious face back on and cupped her cheek. “I love you, girlfriend.”

“I love you too, boyfriend,” she whispered, then gave me another quick, sweet kiss.

“Now come on, we’ve got to go.” I slapped her ass to get her moving.

––––––––

“ARE YOU SURE I LOOK all right?” Rose asked again as we walked up the marble stairs to Camden’s parents’ house.

“I’m not answering that question again.” Then I let out a sigh. “You look great. Promise.”

“Okay,” she said, nervously smoothing her hands over the skirt of her sundress.

The door opened and Mrs. Rogers was there with a friendly smile.

“Rose, it’s so good to see you,” she said, giving Rose a polite embrace. “And Aiden, it’s been too long since you’ve been around.”

“Hello, Mrs. Rogers,” I said, placing a kiss on her cheek. I’d been to Camden’s parents’ house a few times. There were a few summer barbeques the year before and a New Year’s Eve party to rival all others, and they’d always been welcoming to me. I got the impression that Mrs. Camden was the type of mother who always welcomed all the neighborhood kids into her home, no matter what. “You look lovely.”

“Oh, stop it, Aiden. And if you don’t call me Meg, you’ll get no brunch.”

“All right, Meg,” I said, laughing.

“Did the two of you come together?” Meg asked. Although, the tone of her voice made me think she already knew the answer to the question.

“Come on now, Meg. I know you’ve heard all the kids talking about how Rose and I are going steady.”

“You are?” she exclaimed, still not convincing me of anything. “Well, that’s wonderful. You make a beautiful couple. No one tells me anything anymore.” She stepped back and swung her arm wide. “Come in. The kids are all here. Out on the veranda.”

I led Rose through the house toward the back where I knew the doors to the veranda were.

“I think Camden’s mom has a crush on you,” Rose whispered conspiratorially once we were a good distance away.

“Can you blame her?” I asked, feigning arrogance.

“I mean, no. It’s just super cute. She wants to take a bite out of you.”

“Is there going to be a cat fight later?”

“Are you kidding? Absolutely not. I’ll let her play with you if she wants to.”

“Oh, really?” I asked, thoroughly surprised.

“Aiden, you finally made it.”

That came from Camden, who’d just come into the living room through a set of French doors that opened up to outside.

“Hey, man. Sorry we’re late. This one couldn’t pick shoes.” I hitched a thumb in Rose’s direction, which got me a backhand in the gut.

“If they didn’t have so many pairs, it wouldn’t be so hard to choose,” Camden replied.

“That’s what I said.”

“You’re both hopeless.” Rose sighed. “Where’s your wife?”

“Out those doors,” Camden said with a smile. “To the left. She’s the one hovering over the pitcher of birthday mimosas.”

“Sounds fabulous.” She laughed, then turned to me. “I’ll meet you out there.”

She tipped up and offered me her mouth, and I’d never refuse. I placed a light kiss on her lips, totally appropriate for a Sunday brunch at the mayor’s house. No tongue or anything. Then I had the pleasure of watching her walk away.

“You’re toast.” Camden was laughing through the words, and it took me a few seconds to realize he was referring to me.

“If you’re trying to allude to the idea that Rose has tamed me, and I’m putty in her hands, well, you’d be right.” There was no use denying it.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. And trust me, it happens to the best of us.”

“What happens to the best of us?” Justin asked as he walked in through the same doors Rose had just exited through.

“Oh, Aiden has joined the ranks of the men who are whipped by their women.”

“Oh, yeah.” Justin waved the thought away like it wasn’t a big deal, and I just had to laugh. “People make a huge deal about being whipped, but honestly, haters gonna hate.”

“You went to law school, right? ’Cause I think you just quoted Taylor Swift.” I kept laughing.

“I quoted her, but you knew who I was talking about.” He raised one eyebrow at me.

“You got me there.”

“Want a beer, man?” Camden asked.

“Sure. But none of that Guinness junk you drink.”

“Yeah, yeah. Are you guys ever gonna find something else to bug me about?”

“Probably not,” Justin and I said at the same time.

A few hours later and the girls were all tipsy, laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Camden’s parents had gone inside a while ago, claiming they’d be back, but I think they wanted to give the “kids” some time alone to relax.

“What kind of person doesn’t want presents on her birthday?” Hadley asked no one in particular.

“I don’t need anything,” Riley responded. “All I wanted was a nice, sunny afternoon with my friends. And here you are!”

“Tripp couldn’t come up?” Hadley’s question made the smile fade from Riley’s face.

“Tripp didn’t come because I think he was afraid Rachel would be here, and Rachel wouldn’t come for the same reason.”

“What happened there?” Rose asked, leaning toward Riley with intrigue.

“Last year Rachel and Tripp hit it off at our wedding,” Riley explained. “And I think they were going to try the long-distance thing for a bit, even though it was only two hours from here to Eugene. But then Tripp got offered that job in Maine when he graduates and from what I can get out of either one of them, they didn’t think they wanted that much distance.”

“So dumb,” Hadley said before taking a sip of her mimosa. Her fourth mimosa.

“I don’t know,” Rose said thoughtfully. “If they’re heading in different directions, if they want different things in life, then what’s the point in staying together?”

“Uh, because they’re perfect for each other?” Hadley replied, the champagne making her a little more sarcastic than she usually was, which was pretty sarcastic.

“You should talk,” Justin addressed his wife. “You ran from me for a whole year.”

“That was different.” She rolled her eyes.

Everyone except Rose and I groaned.

It had been a running joke for a while how Hadley and Justin finally wound up together.

“Anyway,” Riley said, lifting her eyebrows. “Aiden, how’s work?”

She looked at me with an expression that said please change the subject.

“Work’s good. Just a few more weeks on the Belmont Estate and then it’s back to my regularly scheduled program.”

“What’s next on the docket?” Camden asked, taking a gulp of his beer.

“I have three builds starting in the next four months, so a lot of things are coming up.”

“You work too much,” Hadley remarked.

I looked around at all six of us. All successful in our own careers.

“I think we all work too much,” I added. “That’s kind of what makes us us, yeah?”

“Hear, hear,” Riley said, lifting a glass.

Everyone followed suit and we all clinked our glasses together.

“But seriously,” Hadley said after draining her mimosa.

I lifted an eyebrow at Justin, knowing exactly how Hadley got when she’d been drinking. It was funny as hell, but she was a handful.

“Aiden, you should take a mini-vacay before the Belmont Gala. Go up to your cabin. Unplug. Don’t shower and chop wood. Snare small animals.”

“Why do you think I vacation like a caveman?”

“’Cause you’re a modern-day lumberjack,” Rose said with a laugh, smiling at me.

Fuck, she was pretty.

“You think all I do up there is chop wood?”

She shrugged, still smiling, then took a sip of her own mimosa. Rose was only on drink number two, but her cheeks were starting to turn pink. It was similar to the way she looked after two glasses of wine. I liked it when Rose drank a little because it made her mind shut off. She wasn’t as inhibited. She was more honest with less of a filter.

“So, come to the cabin with me and I’ll prove you wrong.”

“Ooohhh,” Hadley cried. “A challenge.”

“Yes, take her away, Aiden. Rose needs a vacation more than any of us.” That came from Riley and I knew she was right.

“Sure, I’ll just pack my bags and leave you in charge,” Rose said, clearly joking.

“Why not?” Riley asked, suddenly very serious. “I could handle it.”

Rose’s eyes widened and she sat up in her chair.

“No, I know you could. Of course you could. I was just kidding.”

“Rose, I’m serious. You should take a vacation.” Riley was insistent now.

“I mean, maybe someday. But it would take a lot of planning ahead of time. I’d need to keep a chunk of time free from events, make sure no one else needed time off during that time, make sure all the Ts were crossed and Is were dotted.”

“Or,” Riley drew the word out, giving me a look that said back me up here, “you could go next weekend to the cabin with Aiden.”

Rose looked at Riley like she was crazy for a long moment and I think everyone around the table was worried that her head was going to spontaneously combust. But instead, she burst out laughing. Suddenly, she was laughing harder than I’d ever seen her laugh before. Hands on her stomach, bent over, laughing loudly with an ounce of restraint.

Meanwhile, the other five of us exchanged worried and concerned glances, just waiting for Rose to calm down.

“You want me,” she said, then laughed some more. She tried to compose herself, taking gulping breaths. “You want me to go away for a weekend in five days?” She looked at Riley as though she’d lost her mind, and then started laughing all over again.

“It’s not that crazy of an idea,” Riley defended. “The whole office would totally support this idea. Everyone talks about how much you work and how you deserve a little vacay. Hell, Rachel, Jasper, and I could cover for you no problem. Especially this coming weekend.”

I watched as Rose completely disregarded what Riley was saying. Not for anything having to do with Riley herself. The exact opposite, in fact. Rose clearly had some control issues. And usually those issues manifested themselves in ways I admired. She was always on time, she was always prepared, she thought about every single thing ahead of time. She was one of the most responsible people I’d ever met. But spontaneous, she was not.

“Rose could never just up and leave,” I said calmly. I lifted my water glass to my lips and took a sip as casually as I could.

Rose’s laughter softened and evened out, and then she looked at me.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said. You couldn’t handle that.”

She made a rude sound, a pfffft, then looked at Riley and Hadley for backup. Neither one of them said a word. Riley was actually trying to hide a smile.

“I could handle it, I just choose not to.”

“Sweetheart, there’s not a spontaneous bone in your body. There’s absolutely no way, if I invited you, you’d come away with me this coming weekend.”

I watched as Rose’s gears started churning. I could almost picture the lists in her head rearranging themselves into different lists, becoming organized in a different way. If anyone could fit a square peg in a round hole, it was Rose.

“I would too.”

“Prove it.”

“Fine. Invite me to go away with you this weekend,” she said defiantly.

“Rose?” I said her name like something had just occurred to me. “Would you like to accompany me on a weekend getaway to my cabin? Say, this weekend? Would that work for you?”

Rose’s gaze was fixed on mine, and she was absolutely riled up. It was so fucking cute. She didn’t pull her gaze for one second.

“Gee, let me think about it.” She paused for two beats, then said, “Sure, sounds great.”

“Terrific.”

“Perfect.”

Our stare down continued until Hadley finally broke the silence.

“Well, this isn’t awkward at all.”

“Ladies, do you have a free evening this week?” Rose asked without taking her steely gaze off me. “I need help acquiring some cold-weather clothes.” 

“Wow, first you give us a show and now we get to go shopping?” Hadley joked. “You’re okay, Rose.”

“Make sure you grab some good gloves. Wouldn’t want you getting a blister from chopping all the firewood.” I lifted my glass and then tilted it toward Rose, enjoying the scathing look she was giving me. “And long underwear too, city girl.”